In that passage of scripture
that Brian was just reading, if you read the next verse, the
Lord sent a pestilence and 70,000 people died. Now, what was so
wrong with David numbering the people? What was this great sin? Well, there's instructions, I
think it's in the book of Deuteronomy. I can't remember where it is,
but there's instructions regarding a census taking. That if they
ever take a census, they are to receive atonement money for
each person. The silver atonement money. And
the great sin of David was numbering the people apart from the atonement
of Christ. You see, it's only the blood
of Christ that makes us. His people. That's it. And that's why what David did
was such a great sin. But what tender mercies there
are with the Lord. Don't you love the way He said,
let us fall into the hands of the Lord. For in His hands, there's
mercy. Don't let us fall into the hands
of man. Exodus chapter 21. I've entitled this message, Justice
and Mercy. Justice and mercy. Exodus 21 verse 12. He that smiteth a man so that
he die. Shall be surely. Put to death. And if a man lie not in wait,
But God deliver him into his hand, then I will appoint thee
a place whether he shall flee. But if a man come presumptuously
upon his neighbor to slay him with guile, thou shalt take him
from mine altar, that he may die. This is one of eight sins mentioned
in Exodus chapters 21 through 23 that carry with it the death
penalty. If he that smiteth a man so that
he die shall be surely put to death. Now, when someone is sentenced
to death, there's no attempt at reform. You know, we call
prisons reformatories, but when somebody's put to death, we're
not trying to reform them. It's not done for the good of
society. It is justice being meted out. The person guilty of this crime
ought to die. That's why a man is put to death. He ought to die. Look in verse
14, but if a man comes presumptuously upon his neighbor to slay him
with guile, thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may
die. In other words, this man is probably going to try to flee
to the altar looking for mercy, trying to use religion as a way
to keep him from dying. You remember Joab going to the
altar and holding on, and they took him away and slew him. Men
will use religion, won't they, to try to cover up their sins.
But the Lord says he will surely die. Now, our purpose is not
to argue for or against capital punishment. That's not what this
message is about. But I do want us to see that
there is such a thing as justice. Absolute justice. There are moral absolutes. There is right and there is wrong. Now, if there is a God and there
is. There is a God who is utterly
impartially just, he will punish the wicked and reward the righteous. That's what makes things right
and wrong, because God is. Now, if there's no God, who's
to say what's right and who's to say what's wrong? Who's to
say it's wrong to murder your neighbor? Who's to say it's wrong
to do any of these things? If there's no God, who's to say
what's right and what's wrong? Hey, survival of the fittest,
if that's the way it is. But if there is a God who is
absolutely, impartially just, then there is right And there
is wrong. I love that scripture in Isaiah
chapter three, verses 10 and 11, where God says, say ye to
the righteous. It'll be well with them. But say ye to the wicked. It'll
be ill with them, they shall receive the reward of their deeds. And God is utterly, impartially
just. Are you glad about that? Does
that make you thankful? God is utterly, impartially just. Justice and judgment are the
habitation of thy throne. That's what scripture says. Would
you turn with me to Proverbs chapter 17? This is a very important verse
of scripture. Of course, they're all important, but Look at the
Scripture in Proverbs 17, verse 15. He that justifieth the wicked. Somebody's wicked and he says
they're just. And he that condemneth the just,
even they both are an abomination to the Lord. Now, did you hear
that? If somebody justifies somebody who's wicked, the Scripture says
he's an abomination to the Lord. And if someone condemns someone
who is just, he's an abomination to the Lord. Abraham said, shall
not the judge of the earth do right? Yes, he will all the time. Now, there may things may seem
unequal now. There's not a level playing field
in this life, is there? I mean, just observing things,
there's not a level playing field in this life. But God will right
every wrong. No sin will go unpunished because
God is justice. He is a just God. Would you turn with me to Psalm
11 for a moment? I'd like you to look at this scripture with
me, Psalm 11. Verse 4, the Lord Jehovah is
in His holy temple. The Lord's throne is in heaven.
His eyes behold. His eyelids try the children
of men. You know, the Lord's beholding
me right now. He's beholding you right now. He knows us through
and through. The Lord trieth the righteous,
but the wicked And him that loveth violence, his soul hateth." God
hates that person, the wicked person. That's what it says.
The wicked and him that loves violence, his soul hateth. Upon
the wicked, he shall rain snares, fire, and brimstone, and an horrible
tempest. This shall be the portion of
their cup, and here's why. For the righteous Lord loveth
righteousness. His countenance doth behold the
upright. God is just. And you know, this sense of justice
arises in the feeling of all men. You know, we were created
in the image of God. And we all know it's wrong to
take the life of our neighbor. We're born with that knowledge.
Everybody in every society knows that. And, you know, every one
of us have felt outraged when we feel like we've been done
wrong, haven't we? How many times have you been done wrong and
it makes you mad? You've been treated unfairly and it makes
you mad because we have a sense of justice. We were created in
the image of God. God is just. How many times have
you heard about some horrible crime that's been committed?
Some just terrible thing. And you think, that person ought
to die. They ought to be judged for that. They ought to be put
out of business for that. That's part of being created
in the image of God. Everybody's got a sense of justice
in that sense. God is just and his justice is
seen in punishing sin and rewarding righteousness. God is just. And even the gospel. I shouldn't
say even the gospel, I should say most especially the gospel
displays the justice of God. Turn with me to Romans chapter
one for a moment. Romans chapter one. Verse 16. Paul says, for I'm
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it, the gospel of Christ,
is the power of God and the salvation to everyone that believe it,
to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein, in the
gospel, is the righteousness of God. Now, that's not the way
we normally think. We think, well, the gospel reveals
the mercy of God. The gospel reveals the grace
of God. The gospel reveals the love of God. And indeed, the
gospel does reveal all those things. But when God, the Holy
Spirit, inspires Paul to make this statement, he says the gospel
reveals the very righteousness of God, the justice of God, His
righteous and just character. Now, how does it display that?
Well, turn over to Romans 3, right there in Romans. Look in
verse 19. Now we know that what things
soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped. And all the world may become
guilty before God. Now, what does it mean when your
mouth stopped? It means you're guilty. It means you had no excuses. You can't plead anything. You're
guilty as charged. You're completely responsible
for your own sin. You can't blame anybody else.
You can't blame God. You can't blame the sovereignty
of God. When you stand guilty before God, you say it's all
my fault. Every bit of it. Guilty as charged. Let's go on reading verse 20.
But now, The righteousness of God without
the law, without my personal obedience to the law, is manifested,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness
of God, which is by faith of or defaithfulness of Jesus Christ
unto all and upon all them that believe. For there is no difference
for all of sin, and comes short of the glory of God being justified. Now, what's justified mean? I
guess probably about everybody in here knows, but it's good
to hear it again. If I'm justified, that means I'm not guilty. Being
justified. I love it. Being justified freely. By His grace, through the redemption
that's in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation,
as how sin is removed through the perpetuatory death of the
Lord Jesus Christ, whom God set forth or foreordained to be a
propitiation through faith in His blood to declare His Righteousness. And did you get that to declare
his righteousness, not just his mercy, not just his grace, not
just his righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed
through the forbearance of God to declare, I say at this time,
his righteousness, that he might be just. And the justifier of
him which believeth in Jesus. Now, God, here's what I am. I'm a sinner, you're a sinner,
you know that. But here's the gospel. God declares me to be
just, not in a way that is unjust, but in a way that honors his
justice. That's what the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ does.
It makes a way for God to be just and justify the ungodly.
My sin became Christ. God punished him in my place. He got what he had coming because
my sin truly became his. And he died under the wrath and
justice of God. And just as truly as he died
under the wrath and justice of God for My sin becoming his,
his righteousness is mine. And when God justifies me, I
got it coming. I got I'm just in God's sight.
That's the gospel. It declares the righteousness
of God. You see, our consciences, our conscience could never be
satisfied with mere forgiveness. Our conscience can only truly
be satisfied when justice is actually done. And I find such
comfort in this. I'm just before God. I'm not
just forgiven. I am forgiven. Thank God for that. I am forgiven.
I am pardoned. But I am just before God. When He sees me, He sees somebody
without sin. God is just. Justice is essential
to deity. God the Father is a just God. You know His wrath. There is
such a thing as the wrath of God, isn't there? And His wrath flows
from His justice. God the Son is called that Just
One. And we even read of the wrath
of the Lamb. The wrath of the Lamb comes from His justice.
He's a just God. God the Holy Spirit is the Holy
Spirit. Remember when Ananias and Sapphira
lied to Him and He killed them? Why? Because He's the Holy Spirit. God in all three persons of the
Blessed Trinity is utterly, impartially, Inflexibly just. Psalm 45, 17 says the Lord is
righteous in all his ways. Now, everything God does is just
and I find such comfort in this. Just forget about yourself for
a second. Forget about the implications it has for you for just a moment.
Aren't you glad God's just? He's going to punish all sin.
No sin is going to go unpunished. Deep down, you're glad about
that. What if it could be different? What if God was unjust? What
if he was some kind of capricious, sinful being? Oh, that would
be horrible for us and everybody else. But God is just in his
providence. Whether we see it or not now,
it will be seen that whatever God does is just. The wheels
of justice may grind slowly, but they grind surely. All sin
will be punished and all righteousness will be rewarded because God
is just. And he's just in all the acts of his grace. You know,
people, when you're first confronted with the gospel of God's distinguishing,
discriminating grace, how he saves whom he will, and how he
passes by whom he will. When you find out that God elected
a people to be saved, and he didn't elect everybody, he just
elected the elect, those he chose. When you find that Christ only
died for the elect, you know what our first response is? How
can that be fair? Is there unrighteousness with
God? Let me show you that in Scripture. Turn with me to Romans 9. You're
there in Romans. Look in Romans 9. Verse 11, for the children, talking
about Jacob at Esau, being not yet born, neither having done
any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand not of works, but of him that calleth, that was
said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger. As it's written,
Jacob have I loved, Would Esau have I hated? Well, what should
we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Is God unfair in doing
that? I love Paul's answer. God forbid. God forbid. Whatever God does is right, just,
and holy. And do you bow to that? God is
just. And I tell you what, every believer
is happy about that. I'm glad God is just. He's just in all
His ways. He's a just God, but not only
is he a just God. He's a savior. Now, we've been
talking about the justice of God, and you know, if that's
all you talk about, it can get kind of depressing in a way,
because if you know something about your sinfulness, that's
not good news unless you understand the gospel, unless you believe
the gospel. Now, he's a just God and he's
a savior. Now, in this passage of Scripture,
in Exodus 21, look back with me there. Verse 12, here's God's
justice. He that smiteth a man so that
he die, he shall be surely put to death. But look at verse 13.
And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his
hand, then I will appoint thee a place whether he shall flee. Now, this is the first mention
we have of the cities of refuge. Right here, right after this
statement regarding the strict justice of God, we have a statement
regarding the mercy of God. We have the gospel right here
in the cities of refuge. Now, the Lord God is also a merciful
God. Yes, he's a just God, but God
is a merciful God. I've heard people say this. Maybe
I've said it before. I don't realize it. I don't remember,
but I probably have. may be merciful, but he must
be just. Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute.
God's merciful. God must be merciful. That's His nature. That's His
nature. He delights in mercy. Now, He doesn't have to be merciful
because He's obliged to you or I, like we've got a covenant
that He owes it to us. No. But we're talking about the character
of God. God is a merciful God. Listen to me, I want everybody
in here to listen to this statement real carefully. God is more willing
to show you mercy than you are to receive it. We think about that. He is a
merciful God. And he demonstrates that right
off the bat in This reference to the cities of refuge, now
would you turn with me to Numbers 35, this is the first mention
of the cities of refuge, but look here in Numbers chapter
35. I want everybody to understand
this. If I go to hell. God's just. God's just. But God is merciful. He delights. Do you understand this? He delights
in mercy. He delights in saving sinners. So don't anybody say, well, He's
not willing to save me. He's willing to save you if you're
willing to be saved by His mercy. He surely is. He delights in
mercy. And look here at Numbers 35. Verse 9. And the Lord spake unto
Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto
them, When ye be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan, then
ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you,
that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares. And they shall be unto you cities
for refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer die not until
he stand before the congregation in judgment. And of these cities
which you shall give six cities shall you have for refuge. You
shall give these cities on three cities on this side of Jordan
and three cities shall you give unto the land of Canaan which
shall be cities of refuge. These six cities shall be a refuge
both for the children of Israel and for the stranger and for
the sojourner among them that every one that killeth any person
unawares may flee thither. Now, God, in his mercy, established
these six cities of refuge. Now, somebody killed somebody.
Let's say they were out in the field. They had an axe. The axe
head came off the handle, killed somebody. That person's nearest
of kin had the right to kill them. It's called the Avenger
of Blood. As a matter of fact, that's still
going on right now. I remember the first time I went
to Mexico, we were driving down these roads. There'd be people,
it'd be dark, you know, no streetlights or anything, and you'd go by
somebody on a bike, and it'd be so easy to kill somebody.
Does anybody ever get hit? He said, yeah, they do, but if
they get hit, you better keep going, because if you go into
the town, they'll kill you for it. Even if it was an accident, if you
go back into the town and say, I accidentally ran over this
fella, they'll kill you. That's just the way it is, the
Avenger of Blood. Now, that was going on at this time, but the
Lord, in his mercy, gave these six cities of refuge. These six cities of safety. And if you could get into one
of those cities before the Avenger of Blood got to you, you were
safe. The Avenger of Blood could not
touch you. You were protected while you
were in that city. Now, who do you suppose was interested
in the cities of refuge? Now, I guarantee you there were
some people that knew all the names of the cities. They knew
where they were at. And they thought, well, that's
useful information if ever needed. But I'll tell you somebody who
was greatly interested in these cities of refuge. It was that
person who killed somebody. and had the avenger of blood
hot on their track. They were very interested in
where that city is and how to get into that city. That's the
person who was truly interested in the cities of refuge. They
became absolutely essential. Now, obviously, these cities
of refuge are a beautiful type of the Lord Jesus Christ. First
of all, they were appointed by God. God's so merciful. He appointed these cities. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
appointed by God to be a Savior. That's what He came for. He didn't
come to condemn people. Men were already condemned. He
came to save. He came to show mercy. God appointed
Him for this purpose. And these cities of refuge were
located throughout Israel so that a person could get into
one without a great measure of difficulty. I mean, they were
situated strategically, so you didn't have to go a long way
to get to one. And I see the mercy of God in
this so clearly. You know, Christ is not far away.
Now, listen to everybody in here. Christ is not far away from you.
You know, the scripture says the word is nigh thee in Romans
10. It's close. Even in thy heart
and in thy mouth, that is the word of faith which we preach.
that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and
believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved." The words deny you. It's close. It's in your
heart right now. If you're a believer, it surely
is. And you are to flee to these
cities immediately. The time to believe is now. You
know, if you were, if you had that Avenger blood on your trail,
would you just order around or would you get in that city as
quick as you can? The time to believe is right now. Today is
the day of salvation. And the only place of safety
was in that city was not enough to know the name of the city.
It was not enough to know the directions to the city. It was
not enough to be close to the city. You had to be in the city
for protection. You were protected once you were
in that city. That Avenger blood could not
touch you, but it was only as you were in the city. And the truth is, this truth
is so prominent throughout the scriptures. What if you were
right beside one of those houses with the blood over the door?
What would have happened? You were gone. What if you were holding
on to the outside of the ark when the water came down? It
wouldn't have done you any good at all, would it? You had to
be in the ark. You had to be in one of these cities of refuge.
You see, the only place of safety is in these cities. And you had
to remain in the city. Now, you're there, number 35.
Look in verse 26. You had to remain in the city.
If you got outside of the city, you'd be slain. Verse 26. But if the slayer shall at any
time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whether
he was fled and the revenger of blood find him without or
outside the borders of the city of his refuge and the revenger
of blood can kill the slayer, he shall not be guilty of blood
even if he kills him because he should have remained in the
city of his refuge until the death of the high priest. You
see, if you got outside of the city, what happened to you? You'd
be killed. Now at all times, listen to me,
at all times, I don't care what my state is, whether I'm feeling
good, whether I'm feeling bad, whether I'm feeling spiritual,
whether I'm feeling so far away, at all times, my only hope is
being in the city, in the Lord Jesus Christ. And any time I
go outside of that, I've left Christ. Abide in Christ. Stay right there. At no time
do I want to be viewed independently of simply being found in Christ.
That's it. That's it. And any time somebody leaves
that, they've left the gospel. And he says they can be slain. Now, in Joshua, Chapter 20, would
you turn with me there? These cities are named Joshua,
Chapter 20. Let's read verses seven through nine. Joshua 20, verse 7, and they
appointed Kedesh in Galilee, and Mount Naphtali, and Shechem
in Mount Ephraim, and Kir-joth-arbe, which is Hebron in the mountain
of Judah. And on the other side of Jordan,
by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon
the plain, out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead,
out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan, out of the tribe
of Manasseh. These were the cities appointed
for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth
among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might
flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood,
until he stood before the congregation." Now, six cities. Each name is
very significant. Kedesh means holiness. Holiness. Jesus Christ is my holiness. He's my sanctification. Shechem
signifies shoulder. The government shall be upon
His shoulders. He bear our sins. He bears all things on His shoulders. His power. He carries the Lamb
on His shoulder. Hebron means fellowship. Or communion. This is the third city. We actually
have communion with God in Christ. God, here's what I've got to
say. And I hear Him in His Word. I have communion with the living
God. Every believer actually has communion with God through
the Lord Jesus Christ being in one of these cities. Beezer means
a fortified place. The name of the Lord is a strong
tower. The righteous run into it and
are safe. This is my place of safety and
security. The Lord Jesus Christ. Ramoth means glory. Christ is
God's glory. And He's ours also. And Galen
means revelation or manifestation. When God reveals Himself to you,
you know you've got to get in the city, don't you? And you
know you stay in the city. That's God's revelation of Himself
to every one of His people. And go back to Numbers 35. Numbers
35, verse 28. Because he should have remained
in the city of his refuge, look at the next phrase, number 3528,
until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high
priest, the slayer shall return into the land of his possession.
After the death of the high priest, you were free to go back. You
didn't have to stay in that city of refuge anymore. You could
go home. The death of Christ sets us free. Now, the city of refuge is beautiful,
but, you know, there are some ways that this type fails, you
know, no type is perfect because it's just a type. There are six
cities of refuge, but there's only one place of refuge, the
Lord Jesus Christ. These cities save from physical
death. He saves from eternal death. It took much exertion to get
into these cities. Can you imagine how fast you'd
have to run at times to get in there? But all it takes to get
into this city is faith in Christ. And here's what I like the best.
These cities were for accidental sin. Christ is for willful sin. Well, that's I don't just need
a refuge for accidental sin. Matter of fact, I don't have
any accidental sin. Christ is a refuge for willful sin. I turn with you to Deuteronomy
19. Deuteronomy 19. Verse one. When the Lord died,
God. had cut off the nations whose
land the Lord thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them,
and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses, thou shalt
separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which
the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it, and thou shalt
prepare thee a way, a clear road and divide the coast of the land
which the Lord thy God giveth thee to inherit into the three
parts that every slayer may flee thither." Now, here are instructions
given regarding the road to these cities. You know, the high priest
or the priests of the Levites and so on, you know what they
do? They clear the road. They'd get the rocks out of the way.
Can you imagine how malicious? Maybe there was a sign to the
city of refuge and somebody through maliciousness turned it around
and made it go in a different direction. But that priest would
make sure the way was clear. Now, the way into the Lord Jesus
Christ is clear. That's what gospel preaching
is. It's making the way clear, not Not foggy, not hazy. The Philippian jailer said, sirs. He said this to Philip, he said
this to Silas, he said this to the Apostle Paul, sirs. What must I do? To be saved. That's a good question. What is absolutely necessary? What must I do to be saved? Now
somebody says, now that's works. That's works. You talk about
election and predestination and Christ only dying for the elect.
What are you talking about? What must I do to be saved? That's
almost sounds like the worst. No, it's not. What must I do
to be saved? How did Paul answer? Did he say,
now you're just coming the wrong way. Yeah, that's works. That's
legalism. You shouldn't even ask that. No, that's not the
way Paul answered that question. How do you answer that question? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. If you rely, trust, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. If you trust who he is and what
he did as all you need to save you. You will be saved. You are saved. Oh, may God deliver us from making
that issue cloudy. Keep the way clear. There's safety
in the refuge. So God is just. Yes, he is. Thank
God he's merciful. And we see that in these cities
of refuge. Let's pray together.